Anyone Own This Bandsaw?

Looks rather lightweight, probably ok for limited hobby or home diy projects....400 watts = not much....

https://www.vbestreviews.com/metal-cutting-band-saws-reviews/

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/5-Max-Cutting-Portable-Metal-Cutting-Band-Saw-Swivel-Head-Metal-Working-Bandsaw-/131916373608

Thank you for the reviews link. The ebay link was what I was looking at.

I have limited room in my workshop and currently have the fixed head and moving vice type band saw. This requires you swing the saw around for mitre cuts.

I have a high speed saw for aluminum mounted on pair of rails with supports and stops and was hoping to mount this on the same frame aligning the base and back of the vice with the high speed saw to save room.

I see two major disadvantages with the proposed one. Cutting through 125 dia. bar would require hanging onto the handle for a long time and it cannot be set in a vertical orientation.

Tony

Well you could make a jig for vertical placement and use a bungy cord or weight for holding cutting pressure...cutting through 5" solid bar is a lot to ask, is this just aluminum?....It's really a question of how much use will be required...I think I would consider a local metal working shop to cut my stock for me if it was just an occasional need...

...maybe some ideas here....

https://www.pinterest.com/homemadetools/homemade-bandsaws/

Thank you for the link SolarEagle, a number of useful ideas there. I mainly make prototypes of ideas and farm out anything outside my capacity. I also design around laser cut components.

It is for Steel, Aluminum, Timber and Plastic, but mainly for fabricating steel frames and cutting aluminum sections. For the occasional job similar to the picture I may hang onto my existing band saw and make a better vice for these small cutting jobs. I can get steel and aluminum bar supplied, cut to size, but not at 4 pm on a Sunday.

With Mild Steel I often tack a faced round bar on the back of a disk, face and machine both sides, remove the bar, then lightly grip the disk in the 3 jaw and square it up with an aluminum block rubbing against the already machined face to finally machine it.

I also tack square bar onto small sections to cut them in the band saw, not so good on exotic steels!

Tony

I don't get this bit about rubbing the machined face of the mild steel with aluminum.

What is that doing for you? Are you wearing down the aluminum to a flat block that way?

James, I'm totally confused where you got that from.

The Rage3 cuts steel, aluminum, timber, plastic, rubber etc. with the same carbide tipped blade, I explained that cutting aluminum at the slower speed gives a lower grade cut than a high speed saw.

Tony

..."With Mild Steel I often tack a faced round bar on the back of a disk, face and machine both sides, remove the bar, then lightly grip the disk in the 3 jaw and square it up with an aluminum block rubbing against the already machined face to finally machine it."

post #12 is where you said that, but this is the part I do not clearly understand. Are you using the aluminum block for some sort of standard flat?

No, I didn't lose a band saw anywhere, sorry. Are you sure this one isn't yours?

I liked the idea about the homemade, DIY band saws, those sound "ultra-safe" - brought to you by the "hold my beer, and watch this" crowd.

The biggest problem I have had with these small band saws is the lifetime of the blades. Even if you are carefull with the correct blade speed and feed rate for the material you are cutting, the constant flexing around the small diameter wheels fatigues the blade to the point that it breaks before it gets dull. This is even worse for the more expensive bi-metalic blades.

I currently own one of the small Taiwanese band saws and get excellent life from the bi metal blades and haven't had one break yet. I hope I don't regret those words!

Today I discovered this, which maybe a better option, covering Steel, Aluminum and Timber. Tony

I have one similar to this made by DeWalt. I use it extensively to cut aluminum extrusions, aluminum bar stock, plastics, and low carbon steel with excellent results, and I get good life from the 12" 80 tooth carbide blades designed for metal cutting. And it is a lot faster than a band saw

One consideration is the ability to securely clamp round stock so that it won't spin when the blade first starts the cut.

One consideration is the ability to securely clamp round stock so that it won't spin when the blade first starts the cut.

And that's why one has to consider paying a little more for a quality piece. (as well as maybe an extra holding fixture.

Thanks Gringogreg

I only found out yesterday that these multi-cutting blades exist.

That's good news that a larger version is available, what is the Model of your DeWalt one and what did it cost? I'm happy to make up a better holding device. What is it's maximum capacity in Mild Steel?

There a several agents for DeWalt in South Australia but I can't see that type listed, it may not be available here and in 240v.

Tony

One problem with my DeWalt is you have to swivel the vise to make a miter cut, which goes back to your original problem. Also it can't make compound miter cuts.

As far as the capacity in mild steel, I don't know. I purchased this saw and primarily use it to cut Aluminum extrusions (80/20™) up to 3" X 3" but the maximum vise capacity is 6"

If I were to purchase another one, I would give serious consideration to the Evolution model that you have been looking at.

We have the type in South Australia you have. I brought the Evolution one today. The DeWalt compound mitre saws are available and I was told I just needed to change the blade, but I noticed The Evolution one runs at one third of the speed of the ones used for Aluminum, a necessary compromise. Also the DeWalt is about A$1300 instead of A$400. I'll post when I've used it for while. Thanks all of you for your help.

Tony

Yes, please do provide us all with an update on this. I am considering replacing my Whitton.

I imagine if you really shop the DeWalt web site, you might find something like this:

Is DeWalt FlexVolt an option for you? I still could not find out if the charging adapter is switchable to 220 VAC or not, but sometimes there is the little switch on the device for that. You would have to contact them and find out prior to ordering.

So an abrasive cut off saw is out of the question?

They are cheap, but if the saw head is fixed then the whole machine or the material needs to be swung around for a mitre cut and I want to cut aluminum too, I imagine this would clog an abrasive disc.

The other disadvantage is the decreasing diameter of the blade.

Have a look at the video, it's quite awesome.

Tony

I like the blade he's using, but they don't show what it is....

As promised I am reporting back.

I've built a bench for the Rage3 and have used it on 6mm which it cuts reasonably well with minimal burr. Overall for the price I'm satisfied, its cheaper than the band saw and can cut a compound angle.

Clamping on both the stock and off-cut is problematic and I have used an over-centre clamp which is better, but not there yet. The off-cut side is more difficult because of the motor, and as the base of the table moves, all clamping has to be off the fence. I have had problems with the material shifting as I cut it and I'm open to suggestions.

As the speed is around 1900RPM instead of 7000RPM, aluminum is OK but not mirror finish (even with a new fine tooth blade), I give a squirt of kero to stop it picking up.

I built a frame out of the 65x35x2 shown and the 45° was about 0.5° out with the pre-position slot, made welding messy, this can probably be fixed with a file on the table slot (90° is fine).

My elderly band saw is still being used and can be seen behind.

Please post if you want any more information, Rage3 video's are on YouTube.

Tony